Online gaming industry upbeat amid COVID spread

Two lockdowns in a span of one year (March 2020 and April-May 2021) have augured well for the online gaming industry in India with a 20% growth in the number of gamers (a jump of 60 million in user base from 2019 to 2020).

The global economy is under strain, but the video game industry has been an unlikely beneficiary of the pandemic which caused this strain. Social distancing and subsequent lockdowns reduced business activities and restricted people to their homes, which resulted in a tremendous surge in gaming and sales that followed. Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, told The Washington Post: “People are at home, they have nothing to do, they are not commuting. You have more time and you’re bored.”

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As a result of the COVID pandemic, the gaming industry in India rose by roughly 18% to hit ₹7,700 crore in 2020 against ₹6,500 crore in 2019, says a report quoted by The Times of India.

HP India managing director Ketan Patel said, “With people spending more time at home, gaming has seen a dramatic rise, as consumers look to find new avenues for entertainment, stress release and social connect. In this scenario, the PC has emerged as the preferred device that provides the most comprehensive gaming experience.”

PC scores above smartphones as a choice for playing games with 90% of respondents saying that a personal computer is better when it comes to playing online. Desktops have bigger screens that give a better user experience, good controls and enhanced sound quality.

It is clear that gaming enthusiasts are demanding specialised PCs and the industry is upbeat about it. Patel said that gamers’ preference for PCs over smartphones “clearly represents a massive business opportunity for HP”. “Gaming is among the fastest-growing segments in our PC portfolio and we expect to continue this momentum and consolidate our position as the leading PC gaming brand in India,” he said.

‘Gaming Landscape Report 2021’, released by HP India Personal Computer (PC), said the gaming industry has come into the mainstream during the COVID pandemic and become popular among all categories of users – women, youngsters and middle-aged – due to which it has emerged as a serious career option. A good 90% of respondents see gaming as a serious career option, of which 85% are women. About 80% of male respondents said they want to pursue a career in gaming with 91% of the young generation (Gen X) and 88% of school students saying they would love to be game developers.

The HP survey was conducted in 25 cities with 1,500 respondents in the 15-40 age group.

The global video game market was worth $159 billion a year before (2020), which was four times box office revenues ($43 billion in 2019) and three times music industry revenues ($57 billion in 2019).